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User blog:Janaethompson/The End of Flash
As many of you have heard, Adobe Flash is coming to an end. Many browsers (such as Chrome, Firefox, etc.) are becoming more aggressive in ending their support for Flash by either disabling or hiding it (while also making it more unsafe and exploitable), in preparation for its end-of-life in December 2020. Traditionally, Flash has been a very buggy security mess since its mass adoption in web browsers, frequently used as an attack vector to gain information from consumers who were running it; on top of it, security updates were slow to come out, leaving many users vulnerable. It's a sad time for early Internet content, yet a very good time for web security. Video-based websites (i.e. Newgrounds, YouTube) are already taking precautions by ceasing production of Flash as it is an old engine, doesn't load on smartphones or tablets, and has also got slower and more unstable for desktop users. There will still be other browsers to play them in, although they may not be super safe, and most Flash games can be converted to an HTML5 format, which is safer and still in support. Web browsers have come a very long way since 1999 and now support things such as native audio and video, vector graphics, and optimized CSS/Javascript rendering—things that were traditionally only possible if you created a Flash app. In the meantime, until Flash is completely disabled, Marapets still runs a portion of site features using Flash, including the Lush Fountain and Wardrobe previews, and so you may want to know how to re-enable Flash so you can use those features. As of October 2019, both Firefox and Chrome require action in order for Flash features to be displayed. In other words, you must re-activate Flash on a website-by-website basis in order to use it. Ian has said that all the Flash games will be moved to a museum in Simeria. That's where we've decided to step in and do some archival work. We've been working to streamline an SWF conversion process, and we're finally ready to begin work on preserving old Flash content! If you want to make sure specific Marapets Flash games you like are still playable, you can archive or convert them on certain web sites. (Stay tuned in the coming months for even more preserved content, such as screenshots, music tracks, advertisements, and more!) Here is what game developers had to say: Dakota prison.gif|''I think our time of releasing Flash games are over; any game that we release now will be HTML5 and mobile friendly!'' ~ Scrappy from Newpets Crindol snow.gif|''Flash is pretty much old dead technology and any new games will not be flash based.'' ~ Ian The following Flash features have already been converted to be mobile/HTML5-friendly: *Baspinar, Biala, Candyland, Dukka, Gigantic, City, Ziranek, Slater, Jenoa, Marada, and Minipet world maps *Dress Up Dolls (on most pages) *Most dailies *Radio buttons *Some CAPTCHAS Here are some of the other major Flash-based features we are expecting to be converted: *Nimbus, Eleka, Kamilah, Lowlyhood, Lush, Sewers, Vortex, Simeria, and Enpiah world maps *Lush Fountain and Wardrobe previews Category:Blog posts